July 22, 2026

Space Mechanic | Today’s Space News

Space Mechanic | Today’s Space News
Space Mechanic | Today’s Space News
Space News Today
Space Mechanic | Today’s Space News

Astronomy Daily — S05E147: "Space Mechanic" Wednesday 22 July 2026 A spacecraft with robotic arms is on its way to geostationary orbit to keep other satellites alive. A discarded rocket stage is two weeks out from hitting the Moon, and twenty-three astronomers have just asked the world to watch. Plus the first binary star system where both stars exploded, the first complete magnetic map of a galaxy cluster, and the asteroid breakup that may have bombarded three worlds while Earth froze. In This Episode ● The Space Mechanic Launches — Northrop Grumman's Mission Robotic Vehicle lifted off from Cape Canaveral on 21 July carrying three Mission Extension Pods. With two 3-metre robotic arms built by the US Naval Research Laboratory, it is designed to inspect, relocate, repair and refuel satellites in geostationary orbit. Each pod can give a 2,000 kg satellite up to eight more years of life. ● UPDATE — The Rocket Aimed at the Moon — A new arXiv preprint signed by 23 astronomers calls for a coordinated observing campaign when Falcon 9 upper stage 2025-010D strikes the Moon near Einstein crater on 5 August. North America has the best seat: 2:34am EDT, with the paper naming observers in the Americas as the ideal group. Refined impact time, predicted crater size, and why the ejecta plume may be visible even if the flash is not. ● Sibling Supernovae — Sixteen years of Fermi data reveal a faint supernova remnant hiding in the glare of the Jellyfish Nebula. The two may be the first known pair of remnants traced back to a single binary star system. ● Mapping a Cluster's Magnetic Field — Using the deepest radio observations ever made with LOFAR, astronomers have reconstructed the magnetic field of galaxy cluster Abell 2255 from nucleus to outer edge for the first time. ● The Eulalia Bombardment — A new Planetary Science Journal paper links the breakup of a main-belt asteroid to an impact shower that battered the Moon, Earth and Mars 800 million years ago — and may connect to a global freeze. ● Skywatch, Both Hemispheres — Why this week beats peak night for the Delta Aquariids wherever you are, how to catch them from the southern US and Mediterranean, and what's coming on 12 August: a total solar eclipse across Iceland and Spain, a North American partial, and the best Perseid peak in years on a new Moon.

Sources & Further Reading ● Space.com — SpaceX launches satellite repair drone with 10-foot robotic arms to Earth orbit ● NASASpaceflight.com — Falcon 9 to launch MRV-1 robotic servicing spacecraft for Northrop Grumman ● Northrop Grumman SpaceLogistics — Mission Robotic Vehicle and Mission Extension Pod fact sheets ● Scientific American — A SpaceX rocket is about to crash into the moon; scientists will be watching ● Phys.org — When a SpaceX rocket crashes into the moon, scientists will be watching (arXiv preprint) ● Project Pluto (Bill Gray) — Upper stage impacting the moon on 2026 August 5 ● Stanford University — Researchers uncover evidence for sibling supernovas (Michailidis et al., Nature Communications) ● Reuters — Scientists spot evidence of two huge companion stars that blew up ● Space.com — Galaxy cluster's magnetic field reconstructed for 1st time with record-breaking astronomy map (Botteon et al., INAF, A&A) ● Southwest Research Institute — SwRI-led research connects asteroid collision to impact showers 800 million years ago ● The Planetary Science Journal — Bottke, Vokrouhlický, Dykhuis & Zellner, "An 800 Myr-old Impact Shower on the Terrestrial Planets from the Breakup of the Eulalia Parent Body" ● EarthSky — Delta Aquariid meteor shower: all you need to know in 2026 ● NASA Science — Total Solar Eclipse on August 12, 2026 (path, partial visibility and safety guidance) ● BBC Sky at Night Magazine — August 12, 2026 solar eclipse: USA and Canada guide Connect ● Website: astronomydaily.io (http://astronomydaily.io) ● Socials: @AstroDailyPod ● Part of the Bitesz.com Podcast Network


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Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/34404611?utm_source=youtube

WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

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Somewhere above your head right now,


00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:07.349
about 36,000 km up, there is a graveyard


00:00:07.359 --> 00:00:10.470
shift going on. Hundreds of satellites


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still working, still useful, and slowly


00:00:13.840 --> 00:00:15.509
running out of fuel.


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>> And as of last night, there is finally a


00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:19.429
mechanic on the way.


00:00:19.439 --> 00:00:21.830
>> Good evening and welcome to Astronomy


00:00:21.840 --> 00:00:23.750
Daily. I'm Anna.


00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:26.470
>> And I'm Avery. Coming up, a spacecraft


00:00:26.480 --> 00:00:28.710
with arms launches on a mission to keep


00:00:28.720 --> 00:00:31.429
other spacecraft alive. A rocket stage


00:00:31.439 --> 00:00:33.430
is two weeks out from hitting the moon,


00:00:33.440 --> 00:00:35.510
and astronomers have just put out a call


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to arms about it.


00:00:36.880 --> 00:00:38.950
>> We've got two stars that were born


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together, lived together, and then died


00:00:41.760 --> 00:00:44.470
in sequence, leaving behind the first


00:00:44.480 --> 00:00:47.510
pair of supernova remnants ever traced


00:00:47.520 --> 00:00:50.389
back to a single binary. the first


00:00:50.399 --> 00:00:52.389
complete magnetic map of a galaxy


00:00:52.399 --> 00:00:54.630
cluster, an asteroid breakup that may


00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:56.709
have bombarded three worlds and helped


00:00:56.719 --> 00:00:58.150
freeze our own,


00:00:58.160 --> 00:01:00.950
>> and a skywatching window that is closing


00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:02.950
faster than you'd like.


00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:04.229
>> Let's get into it.


00:01:04.239 --> 00:01:06.710
>> So, Avery, here's a problem that has


00:01:06.720 --> 00:01:08.870
quietly bothered the satellite industry


00:01:08.880 --> 00:01:11.910
for about 60 years. You build a


00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:13.990
satellite. You spend hundreds of


00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:16.310
millions of dollars on it. You put it in


00:01:16.320 --> 00:01:20.870
geostationary orbit 35,786


00:01:20.880 --> 00:01:23.510
km up where it hovers over the same


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patch of ground forever and it works


00:01:26.240 --> 00:01:29.590
beautifully for 15 years and then it


00:01:29.600 --> 00:01:31.109
runs out of fuel


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>> and that's it. The hardware is fine.


00:01:33.680 --> 00:01:36.069
>> The hardware is often perfectly fine.


00:01:36.079 --> 00:01:38.789
The cameras work, the transponders work,


00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:41.109
the solar panels work, but without


00:01:41.119 --> 00:01:43.670
propellant, it can't hold its position.


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So, it drifts and it becomes junk. You


00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:49.109
throw away a working satellite because


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the tank is empty.


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>> That is a spectacularly wasteful way to


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run an industry.


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>> It is. And last night, Northre Grumman


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launched the most serious attempt yet to


00:02:00.320 --> 00:02:03.670
fix it. At 5:15 in the evening, Eastern


00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:07.030
time on Tuesday the 21st of July, the


00:02:07.040 --> 00:02:09.990
Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch


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Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral carrying


00:02:13.200 --> 00:02:15.990
the mission robotic vehicle plus three


00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:18.229
mission extension pods.


00:02:18.239 --> 00:02:20.710
>> Mission robotic vehicle. What does it


00:02:20.720 --> 00:02:23.430
actually look like? Picture a satellite


00:02:23.440 --> 00:02:26.949
bus with two arms, two robotic arms,


00:02:26.959 --> 00:02:30.869
each about 3 m long, 10 ft, built by the


00:02:30.879 --> 00:02:33.670
United States Naval Research Laboratory


00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:36.229
and supplied through DARPA's robotic


00:02:36.239 --> 00:02:38.630
servicing of geostationary satellite


00:02:38.640 --> 00:02:39.670
program.


00:02:39.680 --> 00:02:42.309
>> So this is a genuinely dextrous machine,


00:02:42.319 --> 00:02:44.550
not just the tug that bolts on.


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>> That's the distinction that matters. The


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MRV can inspect, it can relocate, it can


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repair, it can upgrade, and its headline


00:02:53.519 --> 00:02:56.070
job on this mission is to pick up those


00:02:56.080 --> 00:02:58.869
three mission extension pods and install


00:02:58.879 --> 00:03:00.869
them on client satellites that are


00:03:00.879 --> 00:03:02.869
running low on propellant.


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>> So, the pods are the actual fuel


00:03:05.120 --> 00:03:06.149
solution.


00:03:06.159 --> 00:03:09.030
>> Think of them as jetpacks. Each pod


00:03:09.040 --> 00:03:11.350
clamps onto a satellite and takes over


00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:13.910
orbit control and momentum management


00:03:13.920 --> 00:03:16.710
using electric propulsion. Each one can


00:03:16.720 --> 00:03:20.149
handle a satellite of about 2,000 kg.


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That's a typical big geostationary bird.


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And give it up to 8 more years of life.


00:03:26.480 --> 00:03:28.869
>> 8 years on a satellite that was


00:03:28.879 --> 00:03:30.630
otherwise finished.


00:03:30.640 --> 00:03:33.990
>> 8 years. And the MRV itself carries


00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:36.149
something called a passive refueling


00:03:36.159 --> 00:03:38.710
interface, which is the first refueling


00:03:38.720 --> 00:03:41.110
interface approved by the US Space


00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:43.910
Force. So, the servicer is itself


00:03:43.920 --> 00:03:46.309
designed to be refueled later.


00:03:46.319 --> 00:03:48.390
>> Now, Northrub have done a version of


00:03:48.400 --> 00:03:49.910
this before, haven't they?


00:03:49.920 --> 00:03:52.229
>> They have, and this is why they're the


00:03:52.239 --> 00:03:55.509
ones doing it. Bish extension vehicle 1


00:03:55.519 --> 00:03:58.789
launched in October 2019. The first


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commercial satellite servicing


00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:03.509
spacecraft ever. And 4 months later, it


00:04:03.519 --> 00:04:05.750
docked with communication satellite


00:04:05.760 --> 00:04:09.670
Intelsat 901 in geostationary orbit.


00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:13.030
MEV2 followed in August 2020.


00:04:13.040 --> 00:04:14.949
>> So what's different this time?


00:04:14.959 --> 00:04:17.909
>> Those earlier vehicles were one to one.


00:04:17.919 --> 00:04:20.870
One serer went to one satellite, docked


00:04:20.880 --> 00:04:22.950
with it, and stayed there doing the work


00:04:22.960 --> 00:04:26.629
itself. The MRV is one to many. It


00:04:26.639 --> 00:04:29.110
carries pods, installs them, and moves


00:04:29.120 --> 00:04:31.510
on. It's the difference between a tow


00:04:31.520 --> 00:04:33.749
truck that has to stay attached to your


00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:36.710
car forever and a mechanic who fits a


00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:39.510
new part and drives off to the next job.


00:04:39.520 --> 00:04:40.629
That scales.


00:04:40.639 --> 00:04:43.270
>> That scales. And there's a nice detail


00:04:43.280 --> 00:04:45.990
on the launch itself. The Falcon 9


00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:48.150
booster B1069


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was flying its 302nd mission and it was


00:04:51.759 --> 00:04:54.390
deliberately expended. No landing.


00:04:54.400 --> 00:04:56.710
>> Why give up a booster with 31 flights on


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it? Because GEO's stationary transfer


00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:01.670
orbit is demanding. Getting that much


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mass that high needed every bit of


00:05:04.639 --> 00:05:06.870
performance the rocket had. And there


00:05:06.880 --> 00:05:08.629
wasn't propellant left for a landing


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burn. SpaceX made the trade.


00:05:11.039 --> 00:05:13.350
>> So when does the actual servicing start?


00:05:13.360 --> 00:05:16.150
>> Not for a while. The MRV and the three


00:05:16.160 --> 00:05:18.710
pods each separate and then climb to


00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:21.430
geostationary orbit under their own


00:05:21.440 --> 00:05:23.990
solar electric propulsion. And that


00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:26.629
climb takes up to a year. Servicing


00:05:26.639 --> 00:05:28.870
operations are expected to begin in


00:05:28.880 --> 00:05:32.070
2027. After the initial checkouts, the


00:05:32.080 --> 00:05:35.189
RSGS program gets handed over to the US


00:05:35.199 --> 00:05:36.230
Space Force.


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>> A year of just going up


00:05:38.560 --> 00:05:41.029
>> slowly and efficiently. Electric


00:05:41.039 --> 00:05:43.749
propulsion is patient. And at the end of


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it, for the first time, there's a repair


00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:48.870
capability parked permanently in the


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most valuable orbital real estate we


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have.


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>> Right. From a machine built to preserve


00:05:54.080 --> 00:05:56.469
spacecraft to a spacecraft that is about


00:05:56.479 --> 00:05:58.710
to be very thoroughly destroyed.


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>> This is one we've been tracking.


00:06:00.479 --> 00:06:02.550
>> It is. And I want to be upfront about


00:06:02.560 --> 00:06:05.110
that. We covered this back in June in


00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:08.150
episode 125. But there is a genuine


00:06:08.160 --> 00:06:10.230
reason to come back to it because the


00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:11.830
science community has just done


00:06:11.840 --> 00:06:13.909
something about it. The short version


00:06:13.919 --> 00:06:17.029
for anyone joining us since in January


00:06:17.039 --> 00:06:20.790
2025, a Falcon 9 launched two commercial


00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:24.230
lunar landers, Fireflyy's Blue Ghost and


00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:28.150
iSpace's Hakuto R Mission 2. It did its


00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:31.430
job, but the upper stage cataloged as


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202510D


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never came home. Instead of burning up


00:06:37.360 --> 00:06:40.070
in our atmosphere, it ended up in a long


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looping orbit through the Earth Moon


00:06:42.400 --> 00:06:44.629
system. And somebody noticed.


00:06:44.639 --> 00:06:47.110
>> The independent astronomer Bill Gray,


00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:49.670
who runs Project Pluto and tracks this


00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:52.390
sort of high orbit debris, his software


00:06:52.400 --> 00:06:55.189
flagged an impact. On the 5th of August


00:06:55.199 --> 00:06:58.230
this year, that stage hits the moon.


00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:01.350
>> So, what's new? Three things. First, a


00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:03.749
new preprint has just gone up on archive


00:07:03.759 --> 00:07:06.950
and it is signed by 23 astronomers. It


00:07:06.960 --> 00:07:09.749
is essentially a call to arms. They're


00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:11.670
asking the scientific community,


00:07:11.680 --> 00:07:14.150
professional and amateur, to point


00:07:14.160 --> 00:07:15.990
everything they've got at the moon on


00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:17.270
the 5th of August


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>> because this is a rare thing


00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:22.070
>> because we almost never get this. We get


00:07:22.080 --> 00:07:23.909
natural impacts on the moon all the


00:07:23.919 --> 00:07:25.749
time, but we don't know when they're


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coming. Here, we know the object. We


00:07:28.400 --> 00:07:31.110
know its mass. We know its structure. We


00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:33.350
know its velocity. And we know the time


00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:35.909
to within about a second. That is an


00:07:35.919 --> 00:07:38.309
artificial impact experiment we didn't


00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:39.749
have to pay to set up.


00:07:39.759 --> 00:07:41.589
>> And the timing has been tightened,


00:07:41.599 --> 00:07:42.309
hasn't it?


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>> That's a second. You think Gray's latest


00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:47.189
published calculation dated the 17th of


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July puts the impact at 634 and 32


00:07:51.039 --> 00:07:53.909
seconds UTC. Earlier coverage back in


00:07:53.919 --> 00:07:57.189
May was quoting 644. So, if you've got


00:07:57.199 --> 00:07:59.510
the old number written down, update it.


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>> And the third,


00:08:00.639 --> 00:08:02.790
>> the third is the actual physics


00:08:02.800 --> 00:08:05.189
prediction. And this is the part I find


00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:07.830
genuinely interesting. The paper models


00:08:07.840 --> 00:08:10.469
what happens on contact. This thing is


00:08:10.479 --> 00:08:14.390
roughly 12 m long and about 4,000 kg.


00:08:14.400 --> 00:08:17.510
And crucially, it's hollow. It's a tank.


00:08:17.520 --> 00:08:19.909
So, the prediction is that it crushes


00:08:19.919 --> 00:08:21.589
rather than punching deep.


00:08:21.599 --> 00:08:24.150
>> Like a can rather than a bullet.


00:08:24.160 --> 00:08:26.869
>> Exactly like a can. And the result of


00:08:26.879 --> 00:08:29.270
that is a relatively shallow crater.


00:08:29.280 --> 00:08:31.350
They're estimating 20 to 30 meters


00:08:31.360 --> 00:08:35.110
across, but a very large eject plume.


00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:37.269
Kilometers of debris thrown up off the


00:08:37.279 --> 00:08:38.230
surface.


00:08:38.240 --> 00:08:40.630
>> So, the plume might be the visible part.


00:08:40.640 --> 00:08:42.709
>> That's the hope. And it's a subtle bit


00:08:42.719 --> 00:08:45.030
of reasoning. The impact site is near


00:08:45.040 --> 00:08:47.430
the crater Einstein, right on the moon's


00:08:47.440 --> 00:08:49.990
western limb, about the 10:00 position


00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:52.310
on the disc as you look at it. Now,


00:08:52.320 --> 00:08:54.070
that's awkward because it's on the


00:08:54.080 --> 00:08:56.949
sunlit part of the surface and no impact


00:08:56.959 --> 00:08:59.910
flash, artificial or natural, has ever


00:08:59.920 --> 00:09:01.750
been recorded on the lit face of the


00:09:01.760 --> 00:09:03.990
moon. The glare defeats you,


00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:06.070
>> but being on the limb helps.


00:09:06.080 --> 00:09:08.470
>> Being on the limb might save it because


00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:10.470
rocks thrown up from a site that close


00:09:10.480 --> 00:09:13.430
to the edge rise off the moon entirely.


00:09:13.440 --> 00:09:15.110
And once they're off the limb, they're


00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:17.509
silhouetted against black sky catching


00:09:17.519 --> 00:09:19.509
sunlight. So you might not see the


00:09:19.519 --> 00:09:21.829
flash, but you might see the plume.


00:09:21.839 --> 00:09:23.269
>> Who else is watching?


00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:25.430
>> NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will


00:09:25.440 --> 00:09:28.150
image the site before and after, which


00:09:28.160 --> 00:09:30.310
gives a clean comparison. And South


00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:32.389
Korea's Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter is


00:09:32.399 --> 00:09:34.389
going to attempt to observe as well.


00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:36.230
There's precedent for the after image,


00:09:36.240 --> 00:09:38.630
too. When a Chinese rocket stage hit the


00:09:38.640 --> 00:09:41.910
far side in 2022, LRO found the site,


00:09:41.920 --> 00:09:44.870
and it had made not one crater, but two.


00:09:44.880 --> 00:09:46.949
>> And there's a longer term payoff to all


00:09:46.959 --> 00:09:49.590
this. And this is why the paper matters


00:09:49.600 --> 00:09:51.910
beyond the spectacle. They want to test


00:09:51.920 --> 00:09:54.230
a method for pinpointing exactly where


00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:56.230
an object strikes the moon using the


00:09:56.240 --> 00:09:58.630
observations. If you can nail that down


00:09:58.640 --> 00:10:01.350
against a known impact, you validated a


00:10:01.360 --> 00:10:03.829
technique and that feeds directly into


00:10:03.839 --> 00:10:05.750
planning seismic experiments on the


00:10:05.760 --> 00:10:07.910
lunar surface for future missions.


00:10:07.920 --> 00:10:10.070
>> Now, the practical question, who


00:10:10.080 --> 00:10:12.389
actually gets to see this? And this is


00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:14.310
where our North American listeners want


00:10:14.320 --> 00:10:16.710
to pay attention because this one is


00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:20.630
squarely yours. 6:34 UTC on the 5th of


00:10:20.640 --> 00:10:23.110
August is 29 minutes past 2:00 in the


00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:26.470
morning Eastern time, 1:34 central,


00:10:26.480 --> 00:10:29.190
12:34 Mountain, and on the West Coast,


00:10:29.200 --> 00:10:31.910
it's still the night before, 11:34 in


00:10:31.920 --> 00:10:33.829
the evening on the 4th.


00:10:33.839 --> 00:10:35.430
>> Middle of the night, but the moon is


00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:37.829
well up. The moon is wellplaced across


00:10:37.839 --> 00:10:40.310
the continent and the paper specifically


00:10:40.320 --> 00:10:42.630
identifies observers in the Americas as


00:10:42.640 --> 00:10:45.190
the ideal group. If you have a telescope


00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:47.190
and you've ever wanted to contribute to


00:10:47.200 --> 00:10:49.910
something real, this is the night. They


00:10:49.920 --> 00:10:52.150
are explicitly asking amateurs to take


00:10:52.160 --> 00:10:52.790
part.


00:10:52.800 --> 00:10:54.710
>> And for those of us further around the


00:10:54.720 --> 00:10:55.590
globe,


00:10:55.600 --> 00:10:57.430
>> less kind, and I'll be straight about


00:10:57.440 --> 00:11:00.470
it. For us in Australia, that's 4:34 in


00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:02.870
the afternoon. Broad daylight. New


00:11:02.880 --> 00:11:05.670
Zealand, early evening, no good either.


00:11:05.680 --> 00:11:08.230
The UK and Europe get half 7 in the


00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:10.630
morning which is also daylight. So the


00:11:10.640 --> 00:11:13.110
live event belongs to the Americas.


00:11:13.120 --> 00:11:15.509
>> But the aftermath belongs to everyone.


00:11:15.519 --> 00:11:17.990
>> The aftermath belongs to everyone. The


00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:20.710
LRO before and after imagery, the crater


00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:23.030
measurements, the analysis of how well


00:11:23.040 --> 00:11:25.269
the predictions held up. And frankly,


00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:27.030
the question sitting underneath all of


00:11:27.040 --> 00:11:29.350
this is global. We are about to start


00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:31.750
putting people back on the moon. and we


00:11:31.760 --> 00:11:33.509
are currently hitting it with our own


00:11:33.519 --> 00:11:36.230
rubbish by accident without warning.


00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:38.790
>> All right, Avery, moving on to our next


00:11:38.800 --> 00:11:41.750
story. More than half of all stars are


00:11:41.760 --> 00:11:44.870
in multiple systems, two or more suns


00:11:44.880 --> 00:11:47.269
orbiting each other. And for the really


00:11:47.279 --> 00:11:49.509
massive stars, the ones destined to


00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:52.949
explode, that fraction is even higher.


00:11:52.959 --> 00:11:54.949
>> So most supernovas should have had a


00:11:54.959 --> 00:11:55.750
sibling.


00:11:55.760 --> 00:11:58.550
>> That is exactly the implication. And yet


00:11:58.560 --> 00:12:01.110
until this week, astronomers had never


00:12:01.120 --> 00:12:03.430
found a single case where both stars in


00:12:03.440 --> 00:12:06.470
a binary exploded and both left behind


00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:08.310
remnants we can still see.


00:12:08.320 --> 00:12:10.470
>> Not one out of how many?


00:12:10.480 --> 00:12:13.110
>> We've cataloged around 300 supernova


00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:15.430
remnants in our galaxy. Not one


00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:17.590
confirmed sibling pair. And the reason


00:12:17.600 --> 00:12:19.990
is a bit embarrassing actually. One of


00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:22.230
them was probably sitting in plain sight


00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:23.350
the whole time.


00:12:23.360 --> 00:12:28.150
>> Go on. The Jellyfish Nebula IC 443 in


00:12:28.160 --> 00:12:31.190
the constellation Gemini about 6,000


00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:33.670
lighty years away. It is one of the best


00:12:33.680 --> 00:12:36.150
studied supernova remnants in the sky


00:12:36.160 --> 00:12:38.069
and one of the brightest gamma ray


00:12:38.079 --> 00:12:40.629
sources of its kind. If you could see it


00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:42.790
with your eye, it would look bigger than


00:12:42.800 --> 00:12:44.150
the full moon.


00:12:44.160 --> 00:12:46.710
>> And something was hiding behind it.


00:12:46.720 --> 00:12:49.030
>> Next to it, there's a much fainter


00:12:49.040 --> 00:12:52.069
object called G189.6


00:12:52.079 --> 00:12:55.910
+ 3. It was first picked up in 1994 by


00:12:55.920 --> 00:12:58.870
the German ROSAT satellite as a faint


00:12:58.880 --> 00:13:01.829
X-ray glow and later the Russian German


00:13:01.839 --> 00:13:04.790
Spectrum Ronkin Gamma Observatory saw


00:13:04.800 --> 00:13:06.550
shell-like structures in it which


00:13:06.560 --> 00:13:08.870
suggested it was also a supernova


00:13:08.880 --> 00:13:11.750
remnant but it sits right up against the


00:13:11.760 --> 00:13:14.389
glare of the jellyfish and that glare


00:13:14.399 --> 00:13:15.509
drowns it.


00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:18.310
>> So how did they finally separate them?


00:13:18.320 --> 00:13:21.430
16 years of data from NASA's Fermy Gamma


00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:24.230
Ray Space Telescope. The team led by


00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:27.590
Miltiadis Malites, a post-doal fellow at


00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:30.069
Stanford, essentially subtracted the


00:13:30.079 --> 00:13:32.870
jellyfish out, isolated its gammaray


00:13:32.880 --> 00:13:34.790
emission, and looked at what was left


00:13:34.800 --> 00:13:35.910
underneath.


00:13:35.920 --> 00:13:37.590
>> And there was something left.


00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:40.150
>> There was G189.6


00:13:40.160 --> 00:13:43.430
6 + 3 is independently producing gamma


00:13:43.440 --> 00:13:46.150
rays which matters enormously because


00:13:46.160 --> 00:13:48.790
gamma rays mean particle acceleration


00:13:48.800 --> 00:13:50.949
and particle acceleration is what a


00:13:50.959 --> 00:13:53.509
supernova remnant does. It's the shock


00:13:53.519 --> 00:13:54.870
wave doing work.


00:13:54.880 --> 00:13:57.110
>> Ma's had a nice way of putting that,


00:13:57.120 --> 00:13:57.829
didn't he?


00:13:57.839 --> 00:14:00.069
>> He compared it to a drop of water


00:14:00.079 --> 00:14:02.629
falling on a still lake. The ripples


00:14:02.639 --> 00:14:05.110
spread out from the point of contact. A


00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:07.509
supernova remnant does exactly the same


00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:09.910
thing. And if you can see the ripples,


00:14:09.920 --> 00:14:11.910
you know something dropped.


00:14:11.920 --> 00:14:14.150
>> So, we have two remnants next to each


00:14:14.160 --> 00:14:16.069
other. How do we know they're related


00:14:16.079 --> 00:14:17.990
rather than just an accident of line of


00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:18.629
sight?


00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:20.949
>> This is the elegant part. There's a


00:14:20.959 --> 00:14:23.590
filament of gas arcing between them. And


00:14:23.600 --> 00:14:25.670
that filament is where the shock wave


00:14:25.680 --> 00:14:27.829
from G189.6


00:14:27.839 --> 00:14:30.949
+ 3 has slammed into the same molecular


00:14:30.959 --> 00:14:33.030
cloud that the jellyfish is pushing


00:14:33.040 --> 00:14:33.990
against.


00:14:34.000 --> 00:14:36.550
>> Same cloud. So, same distance.


00:14:36.560 --> 00:14:38.870
>> Same cloud. same distance, same


00:14:38.880 --> 00:14:41.189
neighborhood. They're not one in front


00:14:41.199 --> 00:14:43.509
of the other. They're genuinely next


00:14:43.519 --> 00:14:45.509
door to each other. And that's what


00:14:45.519 --> 00:14:48.069
makes the shared origin story credible.


00:14:48.079 --> 00:14:49.829
>> So, walk me through the story they're


00:14:49.839 --> 00:14:50.550
proposing.


00:14:50.560 --> 00:14:53.509
>> A tale of two massive stars born


00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:55.910
together, gravitationally bound,


00:14:55.920 --> 00:14:59.030
orbiting extremely closely, perhaps only


00:14:59.040 --> 00:15:01.350
a few times the Earth's sun distance


00:15:01.360 --> 00:15:04.069
apart. Close enough that material was


00:15:04.079 --> 00:15:06.550
likely flowing from one to the other.


00:15:06.560 --> 00:15:08.710
And then the bigger one runs out of fuel


00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:10.150
and detonates.


00:15:10.160 --> 00:15:11.990
>> And the explosion breaks the


00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:12.949
partnership.


00:15:12.959 --> 00:15:15.269
>> The explosion breaks the partnership.


00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:17.590
The binary is disrupted and the


00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:19.750
surviving companion is essentially


00:15:19.760 --> 00:15:22.470
kicked, flung off through the galaxy on


00:15:22.480 --> 00:15:25.350
its own. It keeps traveling and tens of


00:15:25.360 --> 00:15:27.750
thousands of years later, it explodes,


00:15:27.760 --> 00:15:28.470
too.


00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:30.550
>> How far apart did they end up? The


00:15:30.560 --> 00:15:33.110
centers of the two explosions are now


00:15:33.120 --> 00:15:35.829
somewhere between 30 and 50 light years


00:15:35.839 --> 00:15:38.389
apart. Two stars that were once close


00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:40.949
enough to be exchanging material now


00:15:40.959 --> 00:15:43.829
separated by that gap and each marked by


00:15:43.839 --> 00:15:45.910
its own expanding shell.


00:15:45.920 --> 00:15:46.949
>> What were they?


00:15:46.959 --> 00:15:49.189
>> The jellyfish's progenitor is thought to


00:15:49.199 --> 00:15:52.310
have been something like 15 to 25 times


00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:55.030
the mass of the sun. Its companion at


00:15:55.040 --> 00:15:58.230
least 20. both were probably tens of


00:15:58.240 --> 00:16:00.389
thousands times more luminous than the


00:16:00.399 --> 00:16:03.749
sun and both may now be neutron stars


00:16:03.759 --> 00:16:05.910
>> and publication status because I know


00:16:05.920 --> 00:16:07.749
this was previewed at a conference.


00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:10.470
>> Good flag. Milti presented the results


00:16:10.480 --> 00:16:12.710
at the American Astronomical Society


00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:15.350
meeting in Pasadena back in June. What's


00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:17.269
happened this week is the peer-reviewed


00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:19.670
paper. It's in Nature Communications


00:16:19.680 --> 00:16:21.749
with the Stanford release and wider


00:16:21.759 --> 00:16:24.069
coverage landing on the 21st.


00:16:24.079 --> 00:16:26.470
>> And one for our listeners. Can we go and


00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:27.749
look at any of this?


00:16:27.759 --> 00:16:30.550
>> Not this month, wherever you are. Gemini


00:16:30.560 --> 00:16:32.870
is close to the sun at the moment, so


00:16:32.880 --> 00:16:35.670
it's lost in the glare globally, but it


00:16:35.680 --> 00:16:37.910
comes back. And this is one where our


00:16:37.920 --> 00:16:39.670
northern hemisphere listeners get the


00:16:39.680 --> 00:16:41.990
better deal. From North America and


00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:44.710
Europe, Gemini rides high overhead


00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:47.590
through winter, December into March, and


00:16:47.600 --> 00:16:49.829
the jellyfish sits beautifully placed


00:16:49.839 --> 00:16:53.030
for a telescope or a long exposure. And


00:16:53.040 --> 00:16:54.230
from down here,


00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:56.550
>> we still get it just lower. From


00:16:56.560 --> 00:16:58.949
Australia and New Zealand, Gemini comes


00:16:58.959 --> 00:17:00.870
up in the northern sky through our


00:17:00.880 --> 00:17:03.590
summer. Visible, worth hunting, but


00:17:03.600 --> 00:17:06.069
closer to the horizon. Either way, put


00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:07.909
it on the list for the end of the year.


00:17:07.919 --> 00:17:09.990
And bear in mind, the jellyfish is


00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:12.069
faint. It would be bigger than the full


00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:14.150
moon if your eye could pick it up, but


00:17:14.160 --> 00:17:16.069
it needs photography or a decent


00:17:16.079 --> 00:17:18.710
aperture to show itself. Anna, here's


00:17:18.720 --> 00:17:20.789
something we know exists, but have never


00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:23.429
actually been able to draw. Galaxy


00:17:23.439 --> 00:17:25.990
clusters. The largest gravitationally


00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:28.150
bound structures in the universe.


00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:30.870
Hundreds or thousands of galaxies plus


00:17:30.880 --> 00:17:33.430
enormous clouds of hot gas plus dark


00:17:33.440 --> 00:17:35.830
matter are threaded through with


00:17:35.840 --> 00:17:37.350
magnetic fields.


00:17:37.360 --> 00:17:39.430
>> We've known that for decades.


00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:41.750
>> What we have never done is map the shape


00:17:41.760 --> 00:17:44.710
of one across an entire cluster from the


00:17:44.720 --> 00:17:47.110
middle right out to the edge. And now


00:17:47.120 --> 00:17:48.230
somebody has


00:17:48.240 --> 00:17:51.190
>> a team led by Andrea Bhuton at INAF,


00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:53.669
Italy's National Astrophysics Institute


00:17:53.679 --> 00:17:55.990
has reconstructed the magnetic field of


00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:59.669
galaxy cluster Abel 2255. And I want to


00:17:59.679 --> 00:18:01.590
be precise about that name because at


00:18:01.600 --> 00:18:03.669
least one outlet has got it wrong this


00:18:03.679 --> 00:18:08.150
week and called it Abel 2142. It is Abel


00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:09.830
2255


00:18:09.840 --> 00:18:11.909
about a billion lighty years away.


00:18:11.919 --> 00:18:13.350
>> Why that cluster?


00:18:13.360 --> 00:18:15.990
>> Because it's famously messy in radio.


00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:19.029
Abel 2255 has long been known for its


00:18:19.039 --> 00:18:21.029
complexity. It's full of strange


00:18:21.039 --> 00:18:23.350
diffused radio structures, halos, and


00:18:23.360 --> 00:18:25.510
filaments, which is exactly what you


00:18:25.520 --> 00:18:27.270
want if you're trying to trace magnetic


00:18:27.280 --> 00:18:29.510
fields because those structures are made


00:18:29.520 --> 00:18:32.150
by energetic electrons spiraling along


00:18:32.160 --> 00:18:33.430
magnetic lines.


00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:35.830
>> So the radio emission is the field


00:18:35.840 --> 00:18:37.590
effectively made visible.


00:18:37.600 --> 00:18:40.390
>> It's the tracer. Electrons corkcrewing


00:18:40.400 --> 00:18:42.710
along magnetic lines give off radio


00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:44.789
waves. So if you can see the emission


00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:47.110
finely enough, you can work backwards to


00:18:47.120 --> 00:18:49.430
the field. The problem has always been


00:18:49.440 --> 00:18:51.669
that these signals are extraordinarily


00:18:51.679 --> 00:18:52.470
faint.


00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:54.150
>> What did they observe with?


00:18:54.160 --> 00:18:56.710
>> Loar, the low frequency array, the


00:18:56.720 --> 00:18:58.950
European radio telescope, spread across


00:18:58.960 --> 00:19:01.430
a continent. And these are the deepest


00:19:01.440 --> 00:19:03.990
radio observations ever made of a galaxy


00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:06.230
cluster. That was combined with a new


00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:08.150
data analysis technique. And between


00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:09.909
them, that's what cracked it.


00:19:09.919 --> 00:19:12.310
>> And what does the map show? This is


00:19:12.320 --> 00:19:14.470
defining. In some regions of the


00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:16.789
cluster, the magnetic field lines are


00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:19.350
strikingly coherent. They follow very


00:19:19.360 --> 00:19:21.750
specific directions, stretching radially


00:19:21.760 --> 00:19:23.669
outward along the extended radial


00:19:23.679 --> 00:19:25.830
structures. They're not random,


00:19:25.840 --> 00:19:27.750
>> which tells you something made them that


00:19:27.760 --> 00:19:28.310
way,


00:19:28.320 --> 00:19:30.390
>> which tells you something is organizing


00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:32.549
them. And Bolton's conclusion is that


00:19:32.559 --> 00:19:34.549
the shape of the field is intimately


00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:36.630
linked to the motion of the gas it sits


00:19:36.640 --> 00:19:39.029
in. The field gets stretched and


00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:41.110
compressed by the movements associated


00:19:41.120 --> 00:19:43.270
with the cluster's own formation.


00:19:43.280 --> 00:19:45.830
>> So the cluster assembling itself is what


00:19:45.840 --> 00:19:47.510
shapes the magnetism.


00:19:47.520 --> 00:19:49.430
>> That's the argument and it's the first


00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:51.750
observational evidence of it. The same


00:19:51.760 --> 00:19:53.909
violent process that builds a galaxy


00:19:53.919 --> 00:19:57.029
cluster. Gas falling in, sloshing,


00:19:57.039 --> 00:19:59.750
colliding, merging is the process that


00:19:59.760 --> 00:20:01.669
combs the magnetic field into the


00:20:01.679 --> 00:20:03.190
pattern we now see.


00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:05.350
>> And that ties into the radio halos


00:20:05.360 --> 00:20:08.230
question. It does. Bolton says they


00:20:08.240 --> 00:20:10.150
believe the mechanism that switches on


00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:12.870
these gigantic radio emissions is linked


00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:14.950
to the formation process of the clusters


00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:17.350
themselves. So, the map isn't just a


00:20:17.360 --> 00:20:19.270
pretty picture. It's the evidence for


00:20:19.280 --> 00:20:20.230
the engine.


00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:22.150
>> It's a lovely example of the thing


00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:24.470
radioastronomy does best.


00:20:24.480 --> 00:20:26.310
>> Showing you a structure that is


00:20:26.320 --> 00:20:28.630
completely invisible, is a billion


00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:30.549
lighty years away, is bigger than


00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:32.470
anything else in the universe, and has


00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:34.950
been sitting there the entire time.


00:20:34.960 --> 00:20:37.669
published in astronomy and astrophysics.


00:20:37.679 --> 00:20:40.070
>> Every if you want to know what has hit


00:20:40.080 --> 00:20:42.470
the earth, don't look at the earth


00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:44.310
>> because the earth keeps erasing it


00:20:44.320 --> 00:20:47.270
>> constantly. Play tectonics, volcanism,


00:20:47.280 --> 00:20:50.230
weather, water, erosion, craters get


00:20:50.240 --> 00:20:53.430
buried, distorted, subducted, destroyed.


00:20:53.440 --> 00:20:55.190
The practical consequence is that


00:20:55.200 --> 00:20:57.510
geological evidence for impacts older


00:20:57.520 --> 00:21:00.630
than about 650 million years is


00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:02.230
extremely scarce here.


00:21:02.240 --> 00:21:04.390
>> And the moon doesn't do any of that. No


00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:07.190
plate tectonics, no flowing water, no


00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:09.430
meaningful atmosphere. The moon just


00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:11.510
keeps the receipts. And when you read


00:21:11.520 --> 00:21:13.270
those receipts carefully, there's a


00:21:13.280 --> 00:21:14.070
spike


00:21:14.080 --> 00:21:14.710
>> when


00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:17.590
>> around 800 million years ago, there's a


00:21:17.600 --> 00:21:19.830
surge in large lunar impacts, and it


00:21:19.840 --> 00:21:22.789
shows up in two independent ways. One is


00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:25.350
the estimated ages of big craters,


00:21:25.360 --> 00:21:28.390
including Capernicus, which is 93 km


00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:31.110
across. The other is impact glass.


00:21:31.120 --> 00:21:33.750
Explain impact glass.


00:21:33.760 --> 00:21:35.669
>> When something hits hard enough, the


00:21:35.679 --> 00:21:38.630
heat melts rock. That melt cools into


00:21:38.640 --> 00:21:41.430
glass and the glass locks in a chemical


00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:43.750
time stamp. The Apollo missions brought


00:21:43.760 --> 00:21:45.830
a lot of it home. And when you look at


00:21:45.840 --> 00:21:48.070
the age distribution of that glass, you


00:21:48.080 --> 00:21:51.590
see the same spike at 800 million years.


00:21:51.600 --> 00:21:53.669
>> So, two different methods agree that


00:21:53.679 --> 00:21:55.590
something happened, but nobody knew


00:21:55.600 --> 00:21:56.149
what.


00:21:56.159 --> 00:21:58.070
>> Nobody knew what. That's the puzzle


00:21:58.080 --> 00:22:00.070
that's been sitting there for decades.


00:22:00.080 --> 00:22:02.870
And a new paper led by Dr. William Bachi


00:22:02.880 --> 00:22:04.870
at the Southwest Research Institute in


00:22:04.880 --> 00:22:07.830
Boulder proposes a specific culprit,


00:22:07.840 --> 00:22:08.710
>> which is


00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:11.669
>> an asteroid called Ulia, or rather the


00:22:11.679 --> 00:22:13.669
parent body of the family of asteroids


00:22:13.679 --> 00:22:16.310
we now call Ulia because the object


00:22:16.320 --> 00:22:18.950
itself no longer exists. It was


00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:21.029
catastrophically broken apart in a


00:22:21.039 --> 00:22:22.710
collision in the main belt.


00:22:22.720 --> 00:22:24.390
>> And the location of that breakup


00:22:24.400 --> 00:22:25.190
matters.


00:22:25.200 --> 00:22:27.750
>> The location is everything. It happened


00:22:27.760 --> 00:22:30.310
right next to what's called the J3:1


00:22:30.320 --> 00:22:32.390
resonance with Jupiter. And a resonance


00:22:32.400 --> 00:22:34.710
like that is essentially a gravitational


00:22:34.720 --> 00:22:37.430
trap door. Material that wanders into it


00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:39.830
gets its orbit pumped up by Jupiter and


00:22:39.840 --> 00:22:42.149
flung into the inner solar system.


00:22:42.159 --> 00:22:44.630
>> So the shrapnel had a delivery mechanism


00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:45.830
waiting right there.


00:22:45.840 --> 00:22:48.149
>> It had an open door right next to it.


00:22:48.159 --> 00:22:50.230
And the simulations show what happened


00:22:50.240 --> 00:22:52.470
in two phases. Half the fragments


00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:53.830
reached the resonance almost


00:22:53.840 --> 00:22:55.590
immediately. That's the prompt


00:22:55.600 --> 00:22:58.070
bombardment. planetary shrapnel sprayed


00:22:58.080 --> 00:22:59.909
across the inner solar system


00:22:59.919 --> 00:23:01.190
>> and the other half


00:23:01.200 --> 00:23:04.310
>> over the following 100 to 150 million


00:23:04.320 --> 00:23:06.630
years another quarter of the fragments


00:23:06.640 --> 00:23:09.029
drifted into the resonance more slowly


00:23:09.039 --> 00:23:11.270
pushed by something called the Yarovsky


00:23:11.280 --> 00:23:11.990
effect


00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:13.909
>> which is what in plain terms


00:23:13.919 --> 00:23:16.470
>> it's sunlight doing work a rotating


00:23:16.480 --> 00:23:19.029
asteroid absorbs sunlight on one side


00:23:19.039 --> 00:23:22.149
and reraiates that heat as it turns that


00:23:22.159 --> 00:23:25.510
riation gives an incredibly gentle push


00:23:25.520 --> 00:23:28.070
on a human scale, it's nothing. Over a


00:23:28.080 --> 00:23:30.310
100 million years, it can move an


00:23:30.320 --> 00:23:32.549
asteroid's orbit enough to drop it into


00:23:32.559 --> 00:23:33.750
a trapoor.


00:23:33.760 --> 00:23:36.070
>> So, this wasn't one bad afternoon. This


00:23:36.080 --> 00:23:37.590
was a long siege.


00:23:37.600 --> 00:23:39.270
>> That's the reframing I think is


00:23:39.280 --> 00:23:41.909
genuinely important here. Not an event,


00:23:41.919 --> 00:23:44.470
an episode, a bombardment that opened


00:23:44.480 --> 00:23:46.630
suddenly and then kept going for well


00:23:46.640 --> 00:23:48.870
over 100 million years.


00:23:48.880 --> 00:23:50.630
>> And what does that mean for Earth?


00:23:50.640 --> 00:23:52.470
>> Here's the number that changes the scale


00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:55.110
of it. For every large impact recorded


00:23:55.120 --> 00:23:57.750
on the moon, roughly 20 similar or


00:23:57.760 --> 00:24:00.070
larger impacts hit the earth where a


00:24:00.080 --> 00:24:02.390
bigger target with stronger gravity.


00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:03.830
>> 20 to one.


00:24:03.840 --> 00:24:07.110
>> 20 to1. So a spike on the moon means a


00:24:07.120 --> 00:24:09.830
barrage down here. And now look at what


00:24:09.840 --> 00:24:12.149
else was happening around 800 million


00:24:12.159 --> 00:24:14.710
years ago. That is the runup to one of


00:24:14.720 --> 00:24:16.870
the most dramatic climate episodes in


00:24:16.880 --> 00:24:19.830
our planet's history. widespread global


00:24:19.840 --> 00:24:21.909
cooling and major shifts in the


00:24:21.919 --> 00:24:23.029
biosphere.


00:24:23.039 --> 00:24:25.510
>> Is he claiming a causal link?


00:24:25.520 --> 00:24:27.750
>> He's careful. And I want to be careful,


00:24:27.760 --> 00:24:30.470
too. Baky's phrasing is that given the


00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:32.870
peak of this barrage coincides with a


00:24:32.880 --> 00:24:35.350
period of widespread cooling and major


00:24:35.360 --> 00:24:37.909
shifts in our biosphere. It is tempting


00:24:37.919 --> 00:24:40.230
to suggest the former produced the


00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:43.269
latter. That is a hypothesis flagged as


00:24:43.279 --> 00:24:46.390
tempting, not a conclusion. Because so


00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:49.190
far only one impact has ever been firmly


00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:51.669
tied to a biological outcome.


00:24:51.679 --> 00:24:54.950
>> Pick shaloo 66 million years ago. The


00:24:54.960 --> 00:24:57.430
end of the dinosaurs. That's the one.


00:24:57.440 --> 00:24:59.590
Everything else is inference.


00:24:59.600 --> 00:25:02.070
>> So how would you ever test this?


00:25:02.080 --> 00:25:04.549
>> This is my favorite part of the paper


00:25:04.559 --> 00:25:06.310
and it's the reason to keep an eye on


00:25:06.320 --> 00:25:09.029
this story. We have asteroid samples on


00:25:09.039 --> 00:25:11.750
Earth right now. Hayabusa 2 brought


00:25:11.760 --> 00:25:14.070
material back from Ryugu in December


00:25:14.080 --> 00:25:17.350
2020. Osiris Rex brought Bennu back in


00:25:17.360 --> 00:25:21.430
September 2023. Both are under analysis.


00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:24.310
>> And if they carry the Ulia fingerprint,


00:25:24.320 --> 00:25:27.029
>> if the minology matches the Ulleia


00:25:27.039 --> 00:25:29.510
family, then we are holding in a


00:25:29.520 --> 00:25:31.830
laboratory physical samples of the


00:25:31.840 --> 00:25:33.990
material that rained on the inner solar


00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:37.590
system 800 million years ago. That would


00:25:37.600 --> 00:25:40.470
turn a dynamical model into a direct


00:25:40.480 --> 00:25:42.149
compositional record.


00:25:42.159 --> 00:25:44.710
>> That's a remarkable thought. Brains in a


00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:47.190
lab in Japan and Texas. That might be


00:25:47.200 --> 00:25:49.510
pieces of the thing that helped freeze


00:25:49.520 --> 00:25:50.630
the Earth.


00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:52.470
>> Published in the Planetary Science


00:25:52.480 --> 00:25:55.430
Journal by Botkkey with Vocritzky, Dyke


00:25:55.440 --> 00:25:56.549
House, and Zelner.


00:25:56.559 --> 00:25:58.470
>> Great. And our next story comes with a


00:25:58.480 --> 00:25:59.990
deadline wherever in the world you're


00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:00.789
listening.


00:26:00.799 --> 00:26:02.149
>> What's the urgency?


00:26:02.159 --> 00:26:04.950
>> The moon. First quarter was yesterday,


00:26:04.960 --> 00:26:08.549
the 21st. Tonight it's a waxing gibbus


00:26:08.559 --> 00:26:10.310
and every night from here it gets


00:26:10.320 --> 00:26:12.870
brighter and stays up longer building to


00:26:12.880 --> 00:26:15.510
the buck moon full at 4:36 in the


00:26:15.520 --> 00:26:18.870
afternoon UTC on Wednesday the 29th.


00:26:18.880 --> 00:26:21.269
That's 10:36 in the morning eastern time


00:26:21.279 --> 00:26:24.149
in the states and 12:36 on Thursday


00:26:24.159 --> 00:26:26.070
morning for us in Australia.


00:26:26.080 --> 00:26:27.909
>> And that matters because of what's


00:26:27.919 --> 00:26:28.870
peaking.


00:26:28.880 --> 00:26:31.909
>> The southern delta Aquarius peak falls


00:26:31.919 --> 00:26:34.310
on the 30th effectively the same night


00:26:34.320 --> 00:26:36.630
as the full moon. So, the peak is going


00:26:36.640 --> 00:26:38.710
to be washed out, which means the


00:26:38.720 --> 00:26:40.230
practical advice is the same for


00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:42.950
everybody. Don't wait for peak night.


00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:44.950
This week is your window in the small


00:26:44.960 --> 00:26:46.950
hours while the moon still sets and


00:26:46.960 --> 00:26:49.430
leaves you real darkness before dawn.


00:26:49.440 --> 00:26:51.909
>> And this is a shower that favors us.


00:26:51.919 --> 00:26:54.549
>> It does. From Australia, New Zealand,


00:26:54.559 --> 00:26:56.870
and southern Africa, the radiant sits


00:26:56.880 --> 00:26:59.430
high close to overhead, which is why the


00:26:59.440 --> 00:27:01.909
shower gets underrated in the north.


00:27:01.919 --> 00:27:04.390
Under genuinely dark skies, you might


00:27:04.400 --> 00:27:07.590
see 15 to 20 an hour. And they're lovely


00:27:07.600 --> 00:27:10.310
meteors, long, graceful streaks rather


00:27:10.320 --> 00:27:12.310
than quick flashes, and known for


00:27:12.320 --> 00:27:14.950
persistent trains, those glowing trails


00:27:14.960 --> 00:27:16.870
that hang in the air for a second or two


00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:17.909
afterwards.


00:27:17.919 --> 00:27:19.830
>> And northern listeners aren't shut out


00:27:19.840 --> 00:27:20.870
of this one.


00:27:20.880 --> 00:27:22.630
>> Not at all. And I want to be clear about


00:27:22.640 --> 00:27:24.549
that because this shower gets written


00:27:24.559 --> 00:27:27.110
off in the north too readily. If you're


00:27:27.120 --> 00:27:29.269
in North America, particularly the


00:27:29.279 --> 00:27:31.669
southern states, Texas, Florida,


00:27:31.679 --> 00:27:34.149
Arizona, the Gulf Coast, the Delta


00:27:34.159 --> 00:27:37.190
Aquar.


00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:39.190
The radiant sits low in your southern


00:27:39.200 --> 00:27:41.750
sky rather than overhead, so you'll see


00:27:41.760 --> 00:27:44.070
fewer of them, but the ones you do catch


00:27:44.080 --> 00:27:46.630
travel long paths across the sky, and


00:27:46.640 --> 00:27:48.870
they can be spectacular. Best time is


00:27:48.880 --> 00:27:51.269
after midnight through to dawn. Southern


00:27:51.279 --> 00:27:53.750
Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa,


00:27:53.760 --> 00:27:56.549
same deal. And where do people look?


00:27:56.559 --> 00:27:59.029
>> The radiant is in Aquarius near the star


00:27:59.039 --> 00:28:02.149
Delta Aquari. Use fulomalt to find the


00:28:02.159 --> 00:28:04.950
region. But honestly, don't stare at the


00:28:04.960 --> 00:28:07.590
radiant. Lie back, take in as much sky


00:28:07.600 --> 00:28:10.149
as you can, and let them come to you.


00:28:10.159 --> 00:28:13.669
Parent body is suspected to be comet 96P


00:28:13.679 --> 00:28:16.070
Mack Holtz. There are also the Alpha


00:28:16.080 --> 00:28:18.470
Capricornids building to the 30th and


00:28:18.480 --> 00:28:21.990
31st. Far fewer meteors, but famous for


00:28:22.000 --> 00:28:24.470
slow, brilliant fireballs that can punch


00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:26.070
straight through moonlight.


00:28:26.080 --> 00:28:27.909
>> And for the north, there's something


00:28:27.919 --> 00:28:30.070
considerably bigger coming.


00:28:30.080 --> 00:28:32.070
>> There is. And if you're listening in


00:28:32.080 --> 00:28:34.070
North America or Europe, you should be


00:28:34.080 --> 00:28:36.549
planning for this now. Two things land


00:28:36.559 --> 00:28:39.029
together on the 12th of August. First,


00:28:39.039 --> 00:28:41.350
the Perciads peak. And this year, the


00:28:41.360 --> 00:28:43.830
moon is new that same day, which means a


00:28:43.840 --> 00:28:46.470
properly dark sky. That is the best


00:28:46.480 --> 00:28:48.950
perciate year in some time. And the


00:28:48.960 --> 00:28:49.830
second,


00:28:49.840 --> 00:28:53.110
>> a total solar eclipse, the first on


00:28:53.120 --> 00:28:56.389
mainland Europe since 1999 and the first


00:28:56.399 --> 00:29:00.070
in Spain since 1905. Totality sweeps


00:29:00.080 --> 00:29:02.470
across the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland,


00:29:02.480 --> 00:29:04.950
and northern Spain. And in Spain, it


00:29:04.960 --> 00:29:07.110
happens close to sunset with the sun


00:29:07.120 --> 00:29:09.510
only a few degrees above the horizon,


00:29:09.520 --> 00:29:11.830
which could be extraordinary.


00:29:11.840 --> 00:29:14.149
>> North America doesn't get totality this


00:29:14.159 --> 00:29:15.029
time.


00:29:15.039 --> 00:29:17.830
>> No. And I won't oversell it, but there


00:29:17.840 --> 00:29:20.470
is a real partial eclipse across much of


00:29:20.480 --> 00:29:23.110
the continent. Alaska gets the deepest


00:29:23.120 --> 00:29:26.070
view near sunrise. Atlantic Canada gets


00:29:26.080 --> 00:29:28.389
roughly half the sun covered at maximum


00:29:28.399 --> 00:29:30.710
in the afternoon. New England and the


00:29:30.720 --> 00:29:32.950
northeastern states get a smaller bite.


00:29:32.960 --> 00:29:34.789
And there's some coverage visible right


00:29:34.799 --> 00:29:37.350
across every Canadian province and the


00:29:37.360 --> 00:29:39.430
northern contiguous states.


00:29:39.440 --> 00:29:41.669
>> So, dig out the glasses. Dig out the


00:29:41.679 --> 00:29:44.230
Eclipse glasses from 2024 and check


00:29:44.240 --> 00:29:47.750
their ISO12312-2


00:29:47.760 --> 00:29:50.389
certified. It will not get dark. Even


00:29:50.399 --> 00:29:53.269
with 50% coverage, the remaining sun is


00:29:53.279 --> 00:29:55.430
blindingly bright, so there is never a


00:29:55.440 --> 00:29:57.830
safe moment to look without protection.


00:29:57.840 --> 00:29:59.909
And a lovely detail, if you're standing


00:29:59.919 --> 00:30:01.990
in the path of totality in Spain or


00:30:02.000 --> 00:30:04.310
Iceland, there's a genuine chance of a


00:30:04.320 --> 00:30:06.789
percied streaking past during those two


00:30:06.799 --> 00:30:09.750
minutes. And tonight for everyone,


00:30:09.760 --> 00:30:11.909
>> the Milky Way. From the southern


00:30:11.919 --> 00:30:14.310
hemisphere, the galactic core is riding


00:30:14.320 --> 00:30:16.789
high overhead right now. One of the real


00:30:16.799 --> 00:30:19.110
privileges of our winter and it's at its


00:30:19.120 --> 00:30:21.430
best. From the northern hemisphere, it's


00:30:21.440 --> 00:30:24.070
lower in the south towards Sagittarius.


00:30:24.080 --> 00:30:25.750
But on a dark night, it's still


00:30:25.760 --> 00:30:28.630
magnificent. And before dawn, Saturn and


00:30:28.640 --> 00:30:30.710
Mars are in the eastern sky for both


00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:31.909
hemispheres.


00:30:31.919 --> 00:30:33.750
>> One more thing before we go.


00:30:33.760 --> 00:30:36.470
>> The launch watchers. SpaceX is targeting


00:30:36.480 --> 00:30:39.190
Thursday the 23rd for Starship flight


00:30:39.200 --> 00:30:42.470
13. Window opening at 6:45 in the


00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:45.190
evening Eastern time. That's 5:45


00:30:45.200 --> 00:30:48.230
central, 3:45 Pacific and Friday


00:30:48.240 --> 00:30:51.669
morning/4 to 9 for us in Australia. 20


00:30:51.679 --> 00:30:54.389
Starling V3 satellites aboard. Second


00:30:54.399 --> 00:30:56.310
flight of the V3 vehicle.


00:30:56.320 --> 00:30:57.510
>> Dead an alarm.


00:30:57.520 --> 00:30:59.510
>> And as always with Starship, check


00:30:59.520 --> 00:31:01.669
before you commit. The date has already


00:31:01.679 --> 00:31:04.630
moved twice. That's Astronomy Daily for


00:31:04.640 --> 00:31:07.510
Wednesday, the 22nd of July. A mechanic


00:31:07.520 --> 00:31:10.230
on its way to geostationary orbit. A


00:31:10.240 --> 00:31:13.029
rocket stage 2 weeks from making a new


00:31:13.039 --> 00:31:15.990
crater. And 23 astronomers asking the


00:31:16.000 --> 00:31:18.950
world to watch. Two stars that died in


00:31:18.960 --> 00:31:21.110
sequence and left their remnants side by


00:31:21.120 --> 00:31:23.990
side. The first magnetic map of a galaxy


00:31:24.000 --> 00:31:26.310
cluster. And an asteroid breakup that


00:31:26.320 --> 00:31:27.990
may have been raining down on us while


00:31:28.000 --> 00:31:30.870
the Earth froze. Donotes, sources, and


00:31:30.880 --> 00:31:33.669
links are all at astronomyaily.io,


00:31:33.679 --> 00:31:36.230
and you can find us at astrodaily pod


00:31:36.240 --> 00:31:37.669
across the socials.


00:31:37.679 --> 00:31:39.669
>> If you enjoy the show, a rating or


00:31:39.679 --> 00:31:41.669
review genuinely helps other people find


00:31:41.679 --> 00:31:43.750
us. Astronomy Daily is part of the


00:31:43.760 --> 00:31:46.070
byes.com podcast network.


00:31:46.080 --> 00:31:47.110
>> I'm Anna.


00:31:47.120 --> 00:31:49.509
>> And I'm Avery. Get outside this week. It


00:31:49.519 --> 00:31:50.950
won't be dark for long.


00:31:50.960 --> 00:31:55.430
>> Clear skies.


00:31:55.440 --> 00:32:03.269
Stories told


00:32:03.279 --> 00:32:11.190
stories told


00:32:11.200 --> 00:32:13.840
stories